Story Reader / Main Story / 34 Dream till the Timeless End / Story
Babylonia Logistics Warehouse
Conservation Area
15:40
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Commandant...
Water spray from the fire sprinkler system, slowly dissipating the irritant gas.
There are absolutely no relevant records in the conservation area or Babylonia as if this guy appeared out of blue...
Over the comm, the sound of keystrokes slows down.
...Commandant?
In the temporary channel they had established, the portrait representing the Gray Raven Commandant has turned gray at some point.
The communication system is working. There's no interference... Why are they offline?
Commandant... Ayla?
Teddy! Check all surveillance footage inside and outside the warehouse!
From the sound, Ayla must be running in a hurry.
What's going on?!
Fingers fly across the controls and footage from 47 cameras shows up. As the smoke gradually clears on the screen, only Ayla is still in the warehouse. Both the intruder and the commandant have vanished.
Comman... dant?
The Gray Raven Commandant has vanished right under Babylonia's nose, along with the mysterious "intruder."
The military immediately forms a search group, but there's no sign of either of them anywhere around the warehouse.
The Engineering Force checks all warehouse surveillance footage but only finds recordings from before the smoke spread...
Footage that's identical to the ones stored in Ayla's records.
Explain.
...
A ripple forms in the still coffee cup as Ishmael furrows her brow, flipping through the report Teddy gave her.
The frame "Ishmael" asked to destroy looks exactly like the Construct in Ayla's artwork. It triggered mental distress in [player name].
Now [player name] went missing with a mysterious invader in a warehouse in Conservation Area 221, the warehouse that holds this frame...
I need a logical explanation.
...
I have no recollection of this matter. I'm not trying to avoid responsibility. I'm simply stating a fact.
You must have heard about the recent incidents involving Babylonia and the commandant. If I were behind all this...
Do you think you could be here with all the resources of the Control Court at your disposal?
...
Don't rush it. I'll look into it, but unraveling the full story takes time.
Teddy furrows her brows after examining the Control Court Construct before her and realizing she isn't lying.
The good news is that Babylonia doesn't have a mole. The bad news is that Ishmael actually knows nothing about this... It's another dead end.
A notification chime sounds. Ayla is on the other end.
The Task Force's inspected most areas in the warehouse and found no issues. We're heading to the last few gates.
So... any updates on your end?
Wind scrapes across the terminal, creating a harsh, grating sound.
The lead's gone cold. I'll keep going through the rest of the surveillance footage at Engineering Force.
Has the Science Council found the origin of that odd device in the warehouse? The one they just found...
They're on it. Asimov has asked for experts from Science Council Sections 1 and 2 to disassemble the device. It's codenamed "White Noise" for now...
White Noise?
Asimov notices a strange noise in the surveillance footage right before the smoke dissipated. My combat records picked up the same frequency...
This can't be a coincidence.
Got it. I'll go get a sample of that White Noise frequency from Asimov right now.
Okay... We're at another entry point. I'll contact you immediately if we find anything.
Ayla quickly ends the call.
The noise... sound waves...
Teddy compares the surveillance records before and after the invader appeared, uploads the clips to the terminal, and hurries to the Science Council.
Ishmael sets down her cup and watches the ripples in her coffee distorted by the sound of the closing door.
Ring upon ring, like cages, the ripples trap the foam inside.
Science Council
Science Council
The lights in this building are never fully out. Researchers in white coats are always coming and going all day long.
...I copied that noise frequency you asked for to your terminal.
Those old folks from Science Council Section 2 have been called in as well... You think this has to do with outer space?
I'm not sure. I'll have to broaden the scope of the investigation.
He stares at the middle of the table at the device codenamed "White Noise" that was urgently transported to Babylonia.
Section 1 has already used every method imaginable to disassemble and decode this device. They used existing technological tools to take it apart and attempted to decrypt it with their Punishing Virus research...
But it doesn't react to anything.
Or rather, under specific conditions, it appears to activate, but cannot be "used."
I suspect...
M-Mr. Asimov!
Rosa comes stumbling over, arms wrapped around a stack of yellowed documents taller than herself.
These are the documents you asked for... Um, do you... have a minute?
The purple-haired girl puts the files on the table with a thud, and timidly looks up with just her eyes visible as she glances at Teddy standing in the back.
Okay.
Asimov gestures for Rosa to start talking while he pulls up the data report from his terminal, checking the structural breakdown of the "White Noise".
As... as per Mr. Asimov's instructions, I... I retrieved some of the "research directions" stored by the Science Council from the Golden Age.
Many of them are just "papers," theories that exist only on paper without any actual research results... From there, I filtered out 8791 research papers related to "sound waves"...
Based on the application of the "White Noise", I then narrowed it down... They're all published by the same institution.
"Experimental Principles of Sound Field Localization Using Focused Sound Signals", "Hypothetical Effects of Giant Cavitation Bubble Instantaneous Pressure on Sound Fields", and this one... "Research on Localization Principles of Special Echo Signals Based on Spatial Signal Frequencies".
B-but, everything is just theory, and the current Science Council hasn't restarted any of these projects...
...
Asimov's expression gradually darkens as he compares the main diagrams in the papers.
Go get the Abess Project Team's files.
Tene... Tenebrion!
Rosa, having made the connection, lets out a hushed gasp and rushes to another lab.
Tenebrion... Kamui's special frame?
It's research on "Tenebrion" as a special energy source.
The latest technology is already being applied, but during a recent project report, we discovered their application progress far exceeded what was presented.
...
If it happened once, we could explain it as an "accident," but when it happens a second time, something is up.
Can the Engineering Force access surveillance footage around the Science Council? I need all recordings before the day of the report, with a special focus on all ambient sounds.
Yes, I'll request access right away. How far back do you need?
At least three years.
？
Before she can express her confusion, there's a knock at the door.
...Forget it.
She stretches slowly, walks by Ishmael who's entering the room, finds a corner to sit, and starts working.
...The Science Council doesn't have time to comply with inspections from the Prosecutor's Office at the moment.
Asimov remains focused on the stack of documents, refusing to even acknowledge Ishmael's presence.
I'm not here to represent the Prosecutor's Office.
Her gaze shifts to the "White Noise" placed in the middle of the table, waiting to be examined.
That device is classified as a special item. The report has reached the President, so it doesn't require any approval.
...I apologize. You may not like me because of my identity, but I really am not here on behalf of the Prosecutor's Office.
My frame can collect and reconstruct advanced data, so the military has asked me to help "restore" this device.
Ishmael pulls out the statement signed by Nikola.
...
Please.
After receiving permission, Ishmael stands by the table, carefully examining the device named "White Noise".
It looks like a large data reader, with several scratches from battles. It has markings that don't belong to the current era.
She reaches out, gently touching the base of the device with her fingertips.
Dots of light shimmer as data slowly flows out as pale blue rays, showing the internal structure of the device...
So please, help me...
...What do you want to do?
I will...
The girl looks up, her face tinged with both sorrow and determination.
You have no right to interfere with what must be premiered...
...I won't... cause and effect...
...
Pale blue light flickers, tracing the device's exterior and internal structure. A researcher on the side quickly takes photos, trying to figure out how it should be operated.
...That's quite impressive for a data collection and reconstruction device.
Asimov looks at Ishmael, who responds with a smile.
I'm done with the military's request. Is there anything else you need me for?
Not at the moment. I'll send a formal request, if necessary.
Then, I'll take my leave.
After the researchers finish documenting, Ishmael gestures politely before leaving the lab.
A positioning device...
Asimov's mind races as he studies the terminal's projection of the device's core components that Ishmael "disassembled."
If Ishmael's analysis is right, and "White Noise" is indeed a positioning device, then...
What he didn't say was the only "condition" to activate this device is to play that specific noise on the surveillance footage at a precise frequency while the device is powered.
But...
If everything is normal, then why can't "White Noise" activate again?
Did this device actually "teleport" the Gray Raven Commandant to another location?
The Task Force has searched every inch of the conservation area, but where is the commandant?
"Teleportation" was never achieved even during the Golden Age, so where did this device come from?
In other words...
Does this device locate only a "geographical position"?
